Business Insurance

What if you were told your construction company could be fined up to $132,589?

Posted on by McGriff-Williams in Business Insurance, Human Resources |

As this year’s Construction Safety Week wraps up, let’s look at some pretty staggering statistics relating to jobsite and workplace safety, as well as some new-age solutions to these age-old problems.

– The average cost of a slip or trip injury causing time away from work: $46,000 {National Safety Council}
– It is estimated that the amount of near misses that go unreported is up to 85% {MakuSafe}
– The Top 2 OSHA citations were for lack of fall protection systems and insufficient information transmitted to employers and employees regarding toxic and hazardous substances {ThinkHR}
– OSHA penalties range from $13,260 (other-than-serious & serious) to $132,589 (repeat & willful) {ThinkHR}
– 20% of private-industry worker fatalities are in construction {Big Rentz}
– Construction sees non-fatal injury rates that are 71% higher than any other industry {Accident Analysis & Prevention}

So what can we learn from all of this and how can the construction industry do better to stay safe?

– Construction companies can save $4-6 in indirect costs for every $1 invested in direct costs by evading an injury in the workplace
– Creating and implementing training programs such as how to properly wear PPE, general awareness and classes provided by OSHA would reduce the amount of employee injury but also be wise financially Construction site injuries typically account for 69% of project costs, while health and safety programs only account for 2.5% of project costs
– Utilizing safety and machine operating checklists as well as hazardous material communications will facilitate consistency and reduce liability exposure
– Maintaining a safe environment will help build a positive reputation, assist with brand awareness and recruiting, and promote team morale

How does technology play a part? There are newer systems and protocols that could help prevent and protect construction companies from safety issues. Things such as:

– Wearables (think arm holster or watch) that can monitor conditions, detect slips/trips/falls quickly, report near-misses without interruption, etc.
– Digital trainings available at any time to any size group
– Live stream cameras with recording for monitoring or later verification of procedures or events
– Telematics installed on heavy equipment that could include front and rear facing cameras and operational details of the equipment
– Systems to analyze safety inspection data in order to implement change

We can all agree that safety in construction is a problem and something to take seriously. It’s a risky environment with constant movement, equipment and people coming on and off the jobsite. Taking every step possible to mitigate injuries is worth every penny these precautions could cost. What steps do you have in place for your team?

Key Person Insurance: How It Works and Why It Matters

Posted on by McGriff-Williams in Business Insurance, Life Insurance |

Most owners think about life insurance for their families. Fewer think about what happens to the business if an owner or a key employee dies or can’t work. Key person insurance is one way to plan for that.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Talk with your attorney and your CPA before you buy a policy for your business.

What key person insurance is

Key person insurance is a life insurance policy a business buys on someone whose loss would hurt the business. The business usually owns the policy, pays the premium and is the beneficiary. If that person dies, the business receives the money.

A key person is often an owner, but not always. It can be anyone whose skills, relationships or knowledge would be hard to replace quickly:

  • The person who brings in most of the new work
  • The person a major customer insists on working with
  • The one who holds the licenses, bonding relationships or technical knowledge the business runs on
  • The person who has personally signed for the business’s loans

What the money can do

The business decides how to use the money. Common uses include:

  • Covering lost income while the business adjusts
  • Recruiting, hiring and training a replacement
  • Paying down business debt, or reassuring lenders and customers
  • Giving the remaining owners time to decide what’s next

Don’t forget disability

A long illness or injury can hurt a business as much as a death. The Social Security Administration estimates that about 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled enough to qualify for Social Security disability benefits before age 67. More than 1 in 8 will die before that age. Key person disability coverage can pay the business if a key person can’t work, depending on the policy’s terms. Owners can also look at disability insurance that replaces their own income, and at coverage that helps pay business overhead while they recover.

Key person coverage and buy-sell agreements

A buy-sell agreement is a contract among a business’s owners, and sometimes the business itself. It sets out what happens to an owner’s share if they die, become disabled or leave. Life insurance is often used to fund it, so the remaining owners or the business have the money to buy the share from the owner’s family.

That’s a different job from key person coverage, even though both use life insurance. How the policies are owned and who the beneficiary is can change the legal and tax results. Your attorney and CPA should set up the agreement. We can help with the insurance that funds it.

When a lender asks for it

Some lenders ask for life insurance on a key owner as a condition of a business loan. The policy may be assigned to the lender as collateral, which means the lender is paid first, up to what’s owed. This is called a collateral assignment.

How much coverage?

There’s no single formula. Some questions to start with:

  • How much income would the business lose in the first year or two without this person?
  • What would it cost to find, hire and train a replacement?
  • How much business debt would need to be paid, or would a lender call a loan?
  • For a buy-sell, what is the owner’s share worth today?

Insurance companies will also look at the person’s role and the business’s finances when deciding how much they’ll offer.

An IRS rule to know first: notice and consent

When a business owns a life insurance policy on an employee, federal tax law has notice and consent rules. In general, before the policy is issued the employee must be told in writing that the employer plans to insure their life and for up to what amount, and that the employer will be the beneficiary. The employee must consent in writing, including to the coverage continuing after they leave the job.

These rules matter when a claim is paid. In general, the death benefit is left out of the business’s taxable income only if the notice and consent steps were done before the policy was issued and an exception in the law applies. Common exceptions cover a person who was an employee at any time in the 12 months before death, or who was a director or highly paid employee when the policy was issued. Others apply when the money goes to the person’s family or estate, or is used to buy the person’s ownership share from them. Otherwise, the part of the death benefit above the premiums the business paid may be taxable income to the business.

Businesses with these policies also generally file IRS Form 8925 each year. Ask your CPA to confirm the steps before the policy is issued.

Next steps

  • List the people your business couldn’t easily do without.
  • Talk with your attorney and CPA about buy-sell agreements and tax treatment.
  • Talk with us about life and disability options, and how they fit your business continuity plan.

Sources

This is general educational information, not legal or tax advice. McGriff-Williams Insurance does not provide legal or tax services. Coverage, underwriting and tax treatment depend on the policy, the people insured and your situation.

Questions? A licensed member of our team can talk it through with you. McGriff-Williams Insurance is an independent insurance agency in Gainesville, in business since 1983 and licensed in Florida. We’re at 3501 W University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32607. Call (352) 371-7977, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also visit our life insurance page.

Where confidence grows.

Last updated October 31, 2026

Back to School – What Does it Mean for Employee Leave?

Posted on by McGriff-Williams in Business Insurance, McGriff-Williams News |

Across the country, students are getting back in the groove of classes, whether in-person or virtually. It’s been five months since there’s been a real routine with school, making this yet another transition period for parents and business owners.

The Department of Labor released a compilation of Frequently Asked Questions regarding employee leave under the FFCRA that may be helpful to you as your workplace and workflows are affected by this. Here are some examples or you can view the full list here.

– If I am home with my child because his or her school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, do I get paid sick leave, expanded family and medical leave, or both how do they interact?
You may be eligible for both types of leave, but only for a total of twelve weeks of paid leave. You may take both paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons. The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provides for an initial two weeks of paid leave. This period thus covers the first ten workdays of expanded family and medical leave, which are otherwise unpaid under the Emergency and Family Medical Leave Expansion Act unless you elect to use existing vacation, personal, or medical or sick leave under your employer’s policy. After the first ten workdays have elapsed, you will receive 2/3 of your regular rate of pay for the hours you would have been scheduled to work in the subsequent ten weeks under the Emergency and Family Medical Leave Expansion Act. *Please note that you can only receive the additional ten weeks of expanded family and medical leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act for leave to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons.

– My child’s school or place of care has moved to online instruction or to another model in which children are expected or required to complete assignments at home. Is it closed?
Yes. If the physical location where your child received instruction or care is now closed, the school or place of care is closed for purposes of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave. This is true even if some or all instruction is being provided online or whether, through another format such as distance learning, your child is still expected or required to complete assignments.

 

Vehicle Telematics: the tattletales of driving habits

Posted on by McGriff-Williams in Auto Insurance, Business Insurance, Insurance |

The words Fleet Management may make some business owners’ skin crawl but it’s one of those things they just can’t ignore. For most companies, this is a key aspect of their overall operations and something that needs constant attention.

Some commercial insurance companies are providing Fleet Monitoring premium discounts for the use of telematics, with the hopes that it will reduce the amount of claims and incidents within their commercial auto fleet.

Telematics refers to technology such as front facing cameras, sensors, GPS, and vehicle engine diagnostics. These devices can effectively monitor driving behaviors such as location, hard braking, rapid acceleration, speeding and hard cornering. Identifying these habits is an important element of commercial auto insurance, especially given the increasing rates lately.

The results of these telematics can help determine the risk, along with appropriate pricing and proactive loss control. Some of the technology can even alert the driver itself in real-time of any unacceptable driving behaviors to prevent an accident or injury. Vehicle engine diagnostics also helps tremendously with monitoring things like the health of the vehicle, for example: oil life, fuel efficiency, tire pressure, engine or fluid needs, etc. This is yet another part of fleet management that can be very time consuming and stressful on a business owner/manager.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the amount of fatal crashes involving large trucks and/or buses has increased by 42% since 2009. Ironically, technology such as cell phones could have contributed to that and here we are, talking about technology of other forms to help prevent it. But isn’t that our reality now All things technology? But shouldn’t we be open to anything that can get that number back down? While telematics are optional for now, it could be very soon that they are actually required and that may not be a bad thing.

 

What do I do if an employee is exposed to or tests positive for COVID-19?

Posted on by McGriff-Williams in Business Insurance, McGriff-Williams News |

As many businesses return to work after the stay-at-home order from the COVID-19 pandemic and even as essential businesses continue to work amidst the quarantine business owners may question how they should handle symptoms or positive cases in the workplace. The following protocol has been recommended by Employment and Business Law attorney Terin Cremer of Barbas Cremer, PLLC:

If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, employers should inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace BUT maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Those who have symptoms should self-isolate and follow CDC recommended steps:

– Employees should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met and cleared by healthcare provider

– Pre-screen employees (e.g., measuring the employee’s temperature and assessing symptoms of COVID-19 prior to starting work) and perform regular medical monitoring (e.g., the employee should self-monitor for symptoms or follow up with the employer’s occupational health program) of exposed workers.

– Consult with an occupational health provider and state and/or local health officials to ensure that medical monitoring is conducted appropriately.

Maintaining open, honest communication will assist with keeping everyone as healthy as possible and the workplace as safe as can be, which also limits a business owner’s liability exposure. Stay tuned for updates and additional tips on how to handle these types of situations and be safe!